Area man saves world from appointment scheduling hazards

Creates Evergreen, appointment scheduling software that banishes back-and-forth calls and emails and helps businesses and clients book easily around the clock.

PORTLAND, Ore. (January 24, 2012) - A local man has found a cure for phone tag, tedious email threads and other appointment-scheduling hazards with the launch of Evergreen, an online application that enables clients to quickly schedule online.

Evergreen's key features are:

- Gives clients the ability to schedule appointments online, 24/7
- Sends automated email SMS/text reminders to clients (significantly reducing the number of no-shows)
- Allows staff to access their schedules on mobile devices
- Features an integrated CMS (customer management system)
- Offers powerful promotional tools, including a scheduling widget, a customized website, and various 'book now' buttons that can be integrated into any website

"I was waiting to get a massage one day and overheard the front desk receptionist making the same reminder calls over and over," says Mac Martine, Evergreen creator and founder/CEO of Cycle7 software. "I realized I could help. I created Evergreen to make life easier for appointment-based businesses and the clients they serve."

The easy-to-use, affordable program allows customers to go online to choose what service they want to schedule and which staff member they want to schedule with. They can then browse the online calendar until they find an ideal appointment time. Once a client is scheduled, the staff member is notified, and the appointment is then in the calendar and the client is added to the customer database.

If the business chooses to, they can have an email and/or SMS/text message sent automatically to clients at any given point before the appointment. They might choose, for example, to have an email sent out 24 hours before the appointment, and a text message reminder sent two hours prior to the appointment. According to research in the latest issue of Health Services Research, 18 separate studies found that text/SMS (short message service) message reminders decreased the number of no-shows by nearly 50%. That alone can drive significant savings in lost time and money each year. Combined with the amount of time saved from phone and email scheduling, and manually phoning customers, the benefits are tremendous.

Evergreen offers simple tools to boost your business
Evergreen is more than just appointment scheduling software. It also includes numerous tools to help small businesses promote and market their services online. A one-page website is created for each account, which contains business information such as contact information, hours, maps, and scheduling mechanism for clients. 'Book now' buttons and an appointment scheduling widget can be embedded in any webpage, email or online ad. "Evergreen is like a Swiss-army knife for service providers," Martine says. "It's online appointment scheduling, automated appointment reminders, customer database, online marketing tool, and more, all wrapped up in one easy-to-use little package."

About Cycle7
Cycle7 is a software company in Portland, Ore. Its flagship product, Evergreen, allows small businesses to enable clients to schedule appointments online, and automates email and SMS/text appointment reminders to clients. Created in 2011, Evergreen online appointment scheduling software reduces scheduling hassles and no-shows for spas, salons, massage therapists, independent music teachers, tutors, and other types of service providers.